Cape Verde mayors to visit Brockton

The visit comes two weeks after the president of Cape Verde came to Brockton.

Staff Reporter

BROCKTON – Three Cape Verde mayors are scheduled to visit the city on Wednesday, just two weeks after Brockton hosted the country’s president.

Luis Pires, Fernandiho Teixeira, and Aqueleu Amado are the mayors of three different municipalities on the island of Fogo in Cape Verde, a nation off the west coast of Africa consisting of 10 islands.

The mayors are expected to be received at Brockton City Hall on Wednesday, Aug. 27 at 2 p.m. at the first-floor rotunda. A brief introduction will be followed by food and refreshments in the Mayor’s Office.

Nearly 10 percent of Brockton’s residents have Cape Verdean ancestry, one of the highest percentages by municipality in the United States.

Residents with dual citizenship can vote from Brockton in Cape Verde’s presidential elections, and Mayor Bill Carpenter visited the country earlier this year to build relationships with government officials.

That partnership was showcased again earlier this month when Cape Verde President Jorge Carlos Fonseca met with Carpenter at City Hall and the two men exchanged gifts.

Carpenter presented Fonseca with a limited edition Rocky Marciano statue replica “to symbolize our friendship.” There are only 1,000 in the world and Carpenter requested number 975 to represent Cape Verde’s independence in 1975.

Fonseca gave Carpenter a box of native food and a medal commemorating the 20th anniversary of Cape Verde’s constitution.